Project Ark
by waynee27
Summary: The Crucible destroyed, the fleet in shambles, only a few thousand survivors from the Council species remain, Can the Council Species find a means for survival? Admiral Hackett seems to think so, and he has chosen Shepard to lead the cause, newly Promoted in field Shepard now Admiral must unite the Galaxy before the Reapers return in the next cycle
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect; they are the property of their respective owners: EA and Bioware.  
**

**Prologue: Tuchanka**

The two Krogan stand on the home world, the blasted chunk of rock known as Tuchanka, admiring the view of the sunset as it shines through the Shroud the device which Shepard released the cure of the dreaded Genophage giving the Krogan hope for the first time in over fourteen hundred years. Urdnot Wrex and the tankbred Krogan Grunt grin as they watch their people defeat the enemy that threatens the entire galaxy here on their homeworld. Wrex looks to Grunt and claps him on the back, Grunt in return slams his fists into one another, as he yells in excitement, "This battle will be remembered centuries to come, two Reapers have fallen here on Tuchanka, with more to follow." Shaking his head he gently puts his arm on Grunts shoulder, the look on his scarred face telling, Wrex is about to impart bad news on the younger Krogan, news that Grunt knows he will not like to hear. "Grunt, I have received word from Shepard, we no longer have a way to stop these bastards", Wrex lowers his head in almost defeat, but then looks to Grunt and smiles. "But there may yet be a way I'm getting too old to continue this fight in the next cycle, but you, YOU Urdnot Grunt are just beginning your life of war." Grunt looks at Wrex mildly amused and even more so confused, he thinks carefully on what to say before speaking, finally his thoughts form and he looks back towards the sunset. "I don't understand what you're trying to tell me Wrex, what of the Crucible, was it not meant to destroy the Reapers as we thought or has something changed that won't allow us to use it?" With a heavy sigh, Wrex to looks towards the sunset, "The Reapers attacked the Crucible and the fleets protecting it, destroyed the damn thing to hell and back, this cycle is lost," he once again looks to Grunt with a toothy grin. "But not before a fallback plan could be made, we're not dying without a fight, but your fight Grunt, it will be at a later date, Turian and Quarian ships are inbound 3 ships total." Before Wrex could finish his sentence Grunt interrupts him. "3 ships that aren't enough to evacuate the home world Wrex, you and I both know that if the Krogan are to fight again we'll need more warriors than that." Wrex nods as several Krogan begin to gather in the Kelphic Valley, he looks to Grunt and then to the others and steps forward. "Today the Krogan once again stand united, in the midst of this war, we have found allies in former enemies, and we have united with the whole of the galaxy to fight an enemy even more dangerous than the Rachni."

Wrex pauses, amid the cheers of his people, he scans the scene and sees Bakara, the hope the Krogan so needed and the future of his people. He then looks once again to Grunt, he can't help but smile, as he again sees the future of his people in this young tank bred, he laughs to himself realizing that at one time claiming such things would have been enough for him to be labeled crazy, but not its there for all to see, yes he knew right then and there that Grunt is the right one for the task at hand, the survival of the Krogan depended on it. With Shepard's new intel there yet may be a way for the citizens of this cycle, Krogan, Turian, Asari, Human, Salarian and even the Quarians to survive into the next. He knew his people wouldn't like the idea but they'd obey his orders, as long as he had the support of Bakara and Grunt they'd follow. He lets out a heavy sigh then continues to speak. "Recent intel has determined that the Reapers have ended the plans to retake Earth, by destroying the Crucible," the area once again becomes silent, and then the Krogan begin to mutter and complain amongst themselves, this ends quickly when Bakara interjects. "ENOUGH! Your clan leader is speaking and you will listen." With that the Krogan, quiet down, and turn their attention back to Wrex once again. "Now I know it is against our nature to be afraid of any enemy, but the Reapers have proven to be a foe not to be taken lightly, and had we enough time, were they not already here, this galaxy may have had a chance." Looking out across the Kelphic Valley, and seeing the millions of Krogan gathered he can't help be proud to be Krogan, he walks over to Grunt and places his hand firmly on the warriors shoulder. "This warrior will lead the Krogan into the next cycle, as will Urdnot Bakara, and 3000 other Krogan. The Rest of us will give those Reaper bastards something to remember, they may harvest us, they may turn us into twisted creatures, but the Krogan will rise again, and we'll rise from the ashes of our fallen, alongside our allies and we will put an end to their reign of terror on this galaxy!"

The cheers echo through the Kelphic Valley, as Bakara makes her way to Wrex and Grunt, she smiles at both of them, and follows them into Wrex's command center, Grunt still confused by what is going on looks to Bakara, and then Wrex. "Would you mind telling me what the hell is going on, it sounds to me that you are trying to make me look like a coward in front of our people while you participate in the Krogan's most glorious final battle." Bakara walks over to the young Krogan and places her hand on his shoulder. "It may seem like that now Grunt, but Shepard has informed Wrex of a plan that will save the species of this cycle, 3000 of each species will be taken to 3 separate facilities, the humans call them arks. Their goal will be to ensure our survival until the Reapers have returned to dark space." Grunt scratches his head, and then slams his fists into the concrete slab being used as a table. "I still say this is a coward's strategy, why should we survive when our brethren are being destroyed? I'm a warrior and I should die like one."

Clearly becoming agitated by the younger Krogan's outburst, Wrex launches a biotic attack that sends Grunt slamming into a nearby wall. "You think I don't understand that you're a warrior boy, you and Shepard killed a Thresher Maw on foot, something that hadn't been accomplished since I took the Rite, many centuries before, I know you want to be in this fight and I understand why, because you're Krogan and every Krogan loves a good fight. But right now that's not an option; I'm choosing you to lead the Krogan into the next cycle. By the time the Reapers return next cycle they'll be in for a big surprise, as the Krogan and our allies join with the species of the next cycle to stop them once and for all. If you won't do this for me", before Wrex can finish his sentence a human walks into the room, he embraces Wrex in a show of respect and friendship, and then he turns to Grunt and steps into the light. "Do it for your battle master Grunt?"

Shepard walks to Grunt with a purpose, he places his hands on Grunt's bulky shoulders and looks him in the eyes, if this was anyone else it would be very unwise, but Grunt respects Shepard more than anyone else in the galaxy and so he allows such an action to be made. "Shepard you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I respect you, you're my battle master but you know what I was created for, I'm bred for one thing if you ask me then I'll do this but as a warrior please don't make me do this. If I am to die, I want it to be in battle with my people." Sensing Grunt's doubts Shepard wrestles with the words to make him understand why he needs to do this. "Grunt I don't like this idea any more than you do, but I understand why it must be done, we can't risk the species of the next cycle failing to act, like our cycle has. We'll be the ones leading the fight next time around, hell with 50,000 years as wiggle room, the Krogan population will become a force to be reckoned with, as will the Turians, the Asari, the technological expertise of the Salarians and Quarians we may in fact be able to stem the tide and destroy the Reapers once and for all. So yes Grunt I am asking will you join me once again, to help put an end to this once and for all?" Taking a step back he looks to Shepard, Wrex, and Bakara, he nods and slams his fists together. "If we do this Shepard, I'm going to need plenty of ammo, and we'll need a plan, a good one this time."

He grins as shakes Shepard's hand then walks over to Wrex and extends his hand to him, he is somewhat shocked by the response he gets from the older Krogan as he is enveloped in a massive bear hug. "That's my boy Grunt; you will be the new leader of Clan Urdnot, in the next cycle it will be you who make the Krogan strong and with Bakara's aid you'll make them smart. Now we'll talk about the 3000 Krogan who will be selected, 2000 of those will be females, as you know Krogan reproduce rapidly so 1000 of the strongest males from all the clans will be represent, 200 from each of the five strongest clans, this way we can still keep with Krogan tradition. They have been selected and notified as have the females, they are awaiting pickup from the Turians and the Quarians, but you and Bakara are leaving with Shepard," Nodding towards his elder he walks over to Shepard, and Bakara, he looks back at Wrex, he then turns around and walks back towards the older Krogan as Shepard and the female make their way to the Normandy. "Wrex, I know Krogan aren't the sentimental type, but I wanted to thank you for allowing me to become Urdnot, and for being a far better mentor than Okeer ever could." Wrex nods and then places his hands on Grunt's shoulder; he brings his head down on top of Grunt's forehead. "Grunt it has been an honor to have you be a part of Urdnot's future, you are like the son I never had, be strong, be brave, and most importantly when the time comes to kick the Reapers in the Quad next cycle, give them a swift kick for me." Grunt and Wrex laugh at the thought, as they both let go of their embrace and Wrex returns outside to his people as Grunt in turn heads to the shuttle heading to the Normandy. Wrex then smiles as he sees the shuttle depart and the image of two different ship designs enter the upper atmosphere of Tuchanka. Within minutes several shuttles depart each vessel heading towards the rendezvous point for the pickup of the Krogan's last hope. He bows his head and whispers to himself, "May the Ancients guide you."


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: Hope**

It's been 3 days since the Normandy left Tuchanka carrying Urdnot Bakara and Urdnot Grunt, and in those 3 days the Normandy has had an influx of passengers. No surprise to anyone on board is the fact that Miranda Lawson and Ashley Williams do not get a long at all, one being a former Cerberus operative and the other being lifelong Alliance Military there was bound to be issues between those two. On the other end of the spectrum is James Vega and Jacob Taylor, the two have become nearly inseparable when it comes to the armory, Jack aka Subject Zero has once again barricaded herself deep down below engineering, still saying she feels safest in deep dark places. Grunt and Javik seem to have taken a liking to one another due to in no small part the fact that they both are warriors, while Tali'Zorah vas Normandy has once again taken up residence with Daniels, Donnelly and Adams in engineering. Bakara has found her a place in the medbay working with Doctor Chakwas, the two have oddly enough become fast friends, Doctor Chakwas has a deep concern for the female Krogan considering her ill health when they first met and Bakara has a deep respect for Karin due in part to the fact that she is knowledgeable on several species medical needs. Garrus Vakarian once again sets up shop in the main battery of the ship, even going so far as remove the excess equipment to make room for a cot, a recliner and a rug, he claims it feels just like home much to the dismay of Shepard and Liara T'soni.

The Normandy has become a center of activity, although not much is seen from the newly promoted Shepard, as he tends to seclude himself in his quarters since he received word that the Reapers attacked the Crucible, he listens to the recording of Admiral Hackett's speech over and over again. To say that his team and his crew are worried about him would be an understatement, as EDI put it, "It seems that Shepard has lost his will to fight, first loosing Admiral Hackett and then receiving the last message from Earth where he was informed that Admiral Anderson was killed in action leading the resistance, Shepard has become a shell of the man he once was." Little did anyone know that Shepard himself had not entirely lost the will to fight, but was instead planning, researching, and archiving. He knows more than anybody that in order for the Ark projects to work that the survivors of this cycle will need to be able to restart their civilizations with as much technology as possible, the 3000 Quarians who are going to be preserved have allowed several thousand Geth programs to upload into their suits, upon awakening new bodies will be created for the Geth. The Turians have loaded each Ark site with enough materials to fortify each to the make secure, while the Salarians have produced 3 like power supplies that will keep the stasis pods and archives running with little to no chance for detection while the Ark's inhabitants wait for the Reapers to return to dark space. Yes it would seem that Shepard has lost the will to fight but in truth he is making preparations for the future, as the newly appointed Admiral for the Alliance forces it is his duty to ensure the races in this alliance survive into the next cycle. While looking at the schematics for the Ark sites he looks over the 3 large Tantulas drive cores that will provide power for site and he can't help but smile, the stealth systems on the Normandy have saved his and his crews lives so many times he can't help but feel confident that this plan will work because each site will use a similar stealth system as the Normandy although the details are much more complex, as the heat buildup will be released into each respective planets cores gradually,

Shepard lays down the data pad he had been looking at, then rubs his eyes, his stomach grumbles in protest as he checks the time. The clock reads 2030, he thinks to himself, can it really be this late, no wonder his stomach is throwing a fit he hasn't eaten since breakfast this morning, his stomach rumbles again, causing him to laugh. "Alright already I get it you're hungry, I guess I better go get some food and check in with the rest of the crew, there's still much to do with the Ark sites before the Normandy lands in the Ilos docking bay, perhaps I should let Javik know the reason why Ilos was selected as the main Ark site." Shepard stands up and stretches before heading to the fish tank, even though he had the fish feeding VI installed he still likes to feed them from time to time himself, he presses a few buttons on the console and food begins to drop into the tank sending the fish scurrying to the top of the tank. "There you go little fellas, and uh maybe little ladies I have no idea if you're male or female in there." He laughs to himself and then walks to his cabin door. "EDI if you would have the crew assemble in the conference room in about thirty minutes, we need to discuss our upcoming plans." With a prompt reply he is greeted with a familiar friendly voice, "Right away Shepard, you should know that the crew has been worried about you, you have been absent from almost all ship activities these past few days." Shepard nods, "I know EDI, I have just been going over all these details that Admiral Hackett left me, his instructions are extremely thorough," Shepard lets out a yawn and a sigh, "But with this information we may just survive until the next cycle, I could really use your help going through all this information but I know you can't keep a secret, blabber mouth." Shepard laughs, teasing her about the nickname that Liara had given her, he pauses then EDI chimes in. "That was a joke?" Shepard laughs again, "Yes EDI that was a joke, I'm going to get me some food and I'll meet the crew in the conference room." Shepard makes his way out of his cabin and into the elevator, he punches the button to the crew deck as the elevator stops and the door opens he bumps into Garrus. "Ah so there is the Illusive Shepard, we were beginning to think you took up smoking and drinking whiskey while being locked away in your room, glad to see that we were wrong." Garrus and Shepard share a laugh, and then Shepard shakes his head. "No I've just been going over all the details here, briefing in thirty minutes see you in the conference room, two face. Garrus chuckles and then gets into the elevator, while Shepard makes his way to the cooler, he pulls out a few things from it bread, cheese, a couple slices of turkey breast, and mayo, he then grabs some lettuce, a few onion slices and proceeds to make himself two turkey sandwiches, he places them on a plate then puts everything back into the cooler, while grabbing a jug of sweet tea and a glass from one of the cabinets above the dish washer, he pours him a glass, then puts the tea away grabs his meal and drink and makes his way back to the elevator. Liara and Ashley are waiting by the door, they both spot Shepard and they look at his plate and laugh. "Late night munchies Skipper," Ash asks receiving only a nod as Shepard balances his tea and plate in one hand and a sandwich in the other, a large bite having been taken out of the sandwich Shepard chews loudly knowing that it annoys Ash and Liara, he chuckles to himself as they look on in disgust. "You'd think someone such as yourself would have much better manners Shepard, you eat like a." Just as Liara is about to finish her sentence Grunt approaches the elevator, laughing. "You eat like a Krogan Shepard, I'm sure that is what she was going to say, HA I knew you were the wrong species battle master, I bet you were a Krogan in a past life." Shepard finishing chewing and swallows his bite while everyone else laughs, "Hey don't judge your commanding officer, he just realized he hadn't eaten since this morning. So I may have forgotten some of my manners but that's my prerogative. The elevator arrives and they all get in Ash pushes the button for the 2nd deck and they all stand in silence as the elevator ascends to its destination. As the elevator stops and the doors open they file out of the door, Specialist Traynor informs Shepard that he has new messages at his terminal, the others make their way to the conference room while he puts his plate and his glass down next to his console. "Commander I am not going to fix that if you should happen to spill your drink again", Traynor teases, Shepard looks over to her and gives her the, if it happens you'll fix it and like it look, she laughs. Shepard activates his terminal and sees a message from Primarch Victus .  
"_Commander,_

_ Arks 2 and 3 are operational, by the time you receive this message the grids will gone dark and operations will have ceased. The inhabitants will have been successfully entered into cryo-stasis, myself included. The docking bays are secured and any remaining ships will have been set adrift in separate star systems. I'll tell you what though avoiding the Reapers were a nightmare the suggestion to build these structures on planets previously harvested by the Reapers is pure genius though. I had no idea the Alliance had such a contingency plan in place, it's a damn shame that 4, 5, 6 couldn't be completed in time but these sites are massive enough as it is, and I can see the wisdom of only allowing 1000 of each species in to each Ark. I am sure that the Normandy is its way to Ark 1 with that in mind I just wanted to say thank you Commander for informing me of this plan, if this succeeds I'll see you in 400 years. Good luck Commander, and as the old Earth saying goes God Speed._

_Your Friend,_

_Primarch Adrian Victus"_

Shepard smiles upon reading the message, he also sees a manifest of the inhabitants in each of the 2 Arks, he closes out his terminal and grabs his food and makes his way to the conference room, he finishes his first sandwich by the time he reaches the doors and starts on his second as he waits for the scanner to finish scanning him for weapons, he steps through and walks through the second door and sees his team gathered in and around the conference room, he makes a mental note that the conference area is too small and decides that the glass walls surrounding it should be taken down. He finishes his second sandwich and takes a sip of his tea as he enters the conference room, walking over to the front of the room he activates the view screen the schematics for the Ark comes on display. "As you all no doubt have heard the final push for Earth is now a no go, the Reapers have destroyed our only shot at reclaiming it but there is still hope. What you see here is a schematic for a facility that the Brass within Alliance Headquarters had designed and built, there are a total of 3 of these, 3 more were initially scheduled but time constraints and the Reaper attacks destroyed the chance for those 3 facilities to be built." Vega looks over the plans, then lets out a grunt "That things huge Commander but how does it help us destroy the Reapers?" Shepard nods in acknowledgement to James' question. "Short answer it doesn't at least not this cycle," grumbling can be heard throughout the room, "But what it does is allow us to go into stasis until the Reapers have gone back into dark space, roughly set for 400 years from now, similar in fashion to the plan the Protheans' had with Javik and his men except on a slightly smaller scale. After careful planning and consideration, it was decided that these Arks would be built on planets previously harvested by the Reapers, Ark 2 in the Caleston Rift, Ark 3 on the planet Klencory, and the Primary Ark facility in which the Normandy is headed is on Ilos." This makes Liara lift her head, she chooses her words carefully and then speaks. "Commander, why Ilos, it wasn't a world that the Reapers harvested." Shepard nods then smiles towards Javik, "Good Question Liara, the reason for Ilos being chosen was for two reasons, yes it was once harvested by the Reapers, but in a cycle prior to the Protheans, and the second reason is because we found a second sublevel of stasis pods containing living Protheans below the ruins we had already been to." Javik's attention peaked he moves over to Shepard, "Commander did I hear you correctly when saying that you found more of my kind alive?" Shepard nods in acknowledgement, "Yes Javik there is a total of 999 active stasis pods when they were found the power was failing, but we have built our Ark facility within those confines and have converted the power over to our massive power source, you're not the last of your kind my friend, not anymore at least." Garrus scans around the room for reactions, and then looks to Shepard. "Uh not saying that I don't like this plan but you just said a massive power source, won't that draw the Reaper's attention to these facilities?" The image on the screen changes to a design similar to the Drive core in the Normandy, Tali's face brightens up. "Keel'ah Selai that's, that's amazing. That Drive Core has to be at least 3 times the size of the one equipped on the Normandy, if the same technique in stealth technology is used but with a different means to transfer the heat out of the system then it could theoretically be kept hidden from detection for centuries, for millennia even." A smile stretches across the faces of those in the room and Shepard takes another sip of his tea. "Tali's right stealth technology we use on the Normandy has been incorporated into each of the Ark facilities, using the planets core as a means to dump the excess heat, and with the Salarian aid, several servers have been created to allow us to store all of our knowledge with a very minimal energy draw, in essence when we awaken in 400 years, as long as there are no significant technological advances while we sleep, we should be able to wake up and remain ahead of the curve when it comes to galactic dominance. The Turians stationed at each of these facilities have made these damn things near impossible to breach; the factories in each facility will produce Geth platforms for the programs that reside in the Quarian volunteers' suits, along with the needed weaponry we'll need to restart our civilizations again."

Everyone stands in silence as they soak in this information, confidence gaining with each passing second, the thoughts of their possible survival, uplifting and their pride returning. Shepard looks around the room and smiles. "This is our best chance for survival people, the best means for us to give the Reapers the bird, and to say, you think you've destroyed us well think again. This cycle is lost, but that doesn't mean that we have to be, we won't be." I want you all to remember Admiral Hackett's last words." Shepard punches a few buttons on his Omni-Tool and Hackett's speech begins to play.

_"Never before have so many come together from all quarters of the galaxy. But never before have we faced and enemy such as this. The Reapers will show us no mercy; we must give them no quarter. They will terrorize our populations; we must stand fast in the face of that terror. They will advance until our last city falls, but we will not fall. We will prevail. Each of us will be defined by our actions in the coming battle. Stand fast. Stand strong. Stand together. Hackett out."_

With that the crew of the Normandy, looks around proudly, smiles across the room, Shepard looks at his team, with pride and honor as they accept the responsibility that they are going to play in the next cycle. He thinks to himself, they're ready for whatever happens, our Alliance will be ready, as his thoughts dance around, when Joker comes across the intercom. "Hitting the Mu Relay in 30 seconds, arrival at Ilos in the next hour, the team makes preparations for what will become their home for the next few centuries as the crew in the Ark make ready for the Normandy's arrival. Shepard returns to his quarters, to make sure everything is in order before he enters stasis, he activates his personal terminal to see a message from someone he hadn't expected, the Asari, Aria T'loak the message was short, but its meaning understood. Aria somehow managed to find out about the Ark project and had secured herself a spot among the other Asari going into stasis. "I guess the rule on the Ark will be Don't fuck with Aria" he chuckles at that statement. "Nah not on my watch, it'll be more like Don't Fuck with Shepard."


	3. New Beginnings

**Chapter 2: New Beginnings**

The Normandy lands in the Ilos underground shipyard, the crew begin to unload their personal belonging to store in lockers assigned to them by the Ark's staff, while Joker and EDI get in an argument about how being shut down for so long will affect her. EDI insists that she will be alright, and that while the Normandy itself will be shut down, her systems will be tied into the Salarian archives allowing her to monitor the crew including Joker, being the man that he is Joker isn't having any of it. "EDI I understand that you won't be shut down and that you'll be able to check on us periodically but you'll be by yourself for 400 years, don't you think that will make you crazy? I mean hell if I had to be alone for 400 years I'd be a ranting raving lunatic." There is a slight pause in EDI's reaction as she processes the information. "That statement is not true Jeff, if you had to be alone for 400 years you'd be dust, furthermore, who's to say that my being alone for 400 years won't be a good thing; it gives me time to think about how to turn humans into batteries capable of computing the value of pi." Joker looks at EDI's in shock, and stammers for a bit. "That was a joke Jeff." Laughter is heard behind them, as Shepard walks onto the bridge. "I think she got you good on that one Joker, at any rate it's time to haul your crippled ass to your stasis pod, you and the rest of the crew will go under first, while the team and I have a briefing on our plans after coming out of stasis." Joker sighs finally realizing that he has been defeated in his arguments and slowly gets out of his chair. "For the record Commander, I can haul my own ass out thank you very much." Shepard and Joker laugh as Joker hobbles by he stops and slowly turns around. "Commander I just wanted to say it has been an honor to server under you, and I look forward to doing so again in 400 years." Shepard and Joker exchange a salute. "The honor was mine Flight Lieutenant Pain in my ass, now get out to the transport, I think Donnelly is going to throw another fit, waiting for you to get there." With that the pilot turns and makes his way to the airlock, where he is greeted by Gabby Daniels, Samantha Traynor, Engineer Adams and Ken Donnelly. "Aye it's about time you moved your ass, getting you to leave the Normandy was slower than you crawling through the ducts to unshackle EDI. Come on hurry up man, I'd like to enjoy my 400 year nap, if you don't mind." The others in the transport laugh, as Joker gives Donnelly the middle finger. "Up yours at least I have a woman to say goodbye to, for someone so smart, you're so incredibly dumb when it comes to women that it's actually hilarious to watch you in action. Gabby I'm sorry that the man you're in love with is too stupid to see how you truly feel," Gabby's face turns bright red as Joker continues to go on. "If I wouldn't break a leg I'd kick him in his daddy bags till he woke up and realized that he too had feelings for you." Joker climbs in the front of the transport he turns and looks at Ken and Gabby who are both beet red, he smiles then turns around. "You're welcome you two." The transport takes off and takes them to a part of the complex that is shared by both human and Asari. The vehicle stops in front of several empty stasis pods, each of the five is given a fast acting sedative that leaves them awake long enough to climb into their respective pods. As they lie down their pods close, an internal heads up display activates and the temperature is slowly lowered, a mist begins to form inside the stasis pods as they all begin to drift off into a deep dreamless sleep.

Shepard and his team gather in a conference room nearby the stasis area, Shepard and his team watches as Joker and the others are loaded up and sealed into their pods and the pods are carefully moved into the pod storage facility. Shepard has changed clothes since the crew saw him last, he is in his Alliance Dress Blues, although it is obvious to everyone that something is different about his uniform. A soldier enters the room and walks over to Shepard carrying several data pads. "Here is the information you asked for Admiral, I hope I gathered everything you needed for this briefing." Shepard quickly glances through everything and nods, "This is everything Corporal Solomon, thank you that will be all." Turning around Shepard sees the shock on everyone's face, he laughs. "I guess I forgot to mention my field promotion to Admiral of the Alliance fleets? I meant to tell all of you I just didn't think the time was right at the moment, at any rate let's get down to business shall we, this conference room is bigger than the Normandy's so take a seat everyone." Everyone finds a chair and is seated, they look on to the Admiral for direction, as he organizes his notes, he finally has everything in the order that he wants and looks about the room. "Alright first order of business when we awaken," He is interrupted by James Vega, "Is to have the biggest breakfast anyone on this side of the galaxy has ever seen, right Loco?" The room fills with laughter and even Shepard chuckles a bit. "Actually James that is the second order of business when we awake, the first being a trip to the bathroom, you know how bad it is to hold it for just a night, well just imagine how bad you'll have to go after 400 years." Everyone turns to Cortez and then laughs at his joke, Shepard shakes his head, not able to keep himself from laughing, the room finally quiets down enough for him to begin. "Actually the first order of business when we awaken will be to secure the Citadel; I'm going to want it operational within the first year of our return assuming no other species has found it by then. Secondly exploration ships will fly to previous colonies to see how the ecosystems have fared. With any luck the Reapers won't have destroyed them and they can once again be repopulated, and thirdly, we start the repopulation process, with only 3000 of us left we're going to have to have lots of babies, if we want to become what we once were. That goes for all species. Yes Grunt I know you'll contribute your fair share." The room again fills with laughter as Grunt cackles to himself. "We're going to need resources, and plenty of them we'll need to rebuild our fleets and defenses, we'll need to rebuild our populations and most importantly we'll need to rebuild the Crucible. I don't want a what if we can build it, I want it built and attached to the Citadel before the next cycle begins, so that why our children's children's children will be ready." Ashley looks to Shepard, "Admiral what type of government will we create will we have a council like we had this time around?" Whispers can be heard from around the room, as Shepard thinks about the question. "Yes we'll form a council, Human, Turian, Salarian, Asari, Krogan, Quarian, and all other species from our cycle who survive. We'll do so with the knowledge that the Reapers are not just a mere myth but a race hell bent on destroying all other. We will not allow that to happen, we mustn't let that happen anymore." Shepard holds up a document, hand written and signed, the others look at the document confused. "I bet you're asking yourself what this document is, well I'll tell you. This document formally enters all our races in an agreement that no matter what our Galactic Alliance will thus be hence forth solidified into a unified government for all our races. The Galactic Union of Allied Species, under these by laws, each species will govern in a way it will be similar to the Quarian admiralty board, each year a different councilor will take the reins of this union, upon completion of their tour of duty they will recluse themselves from the council and an election will take place for that species that the Councilor represented. Any species that makes first contact will be offered a spot on the council after one year and so on and so forth." The room quiets and then erupts into applause.

Shepard steps away from the podium and loosens up his uniform, he looks around the room to see his crew, knowing this is most likely the last time he will see any of them again he lets out a sigh before speaking. "No matter what happens, I want you all to know that it has been an honor to serve with each and every one of you. And even though I can honestly say that this is the last time we'll ever see each other again, I wanted you to know that I am proud of you all." The rom quickly gets quiet as they hang on his every last word. "Admiral what do you mean this will be the last time we'll ever see each other again?" The question is asked by everyone in the room, Shepard turns around with tears in his eyes, he looks at his crew, his team, his friends and loved ones, he slowly runs his hands through his hair before finding the words he needs to explain, with a heavy sigh he tells them the truth. "I won't be waking up in 400 years with the rest of you, I was deemed a necessity and was chosen by the new council to be the one who is to stay in stasis until 3 years before the next harvest. So you all will be long dead by the time I awaken, although I know I will most likely end up serving with your descendants and I know that they will make me proud like you all do now. So I will bid you all fair well and wish you the best in your new life, just know that when the time comes I'll be here to stop the Reapers once and for all." Shepard quickly walks out of the conference room before anything else can be said; he is met by a transport loaded with his stasis pod. His pod will be kept isolated from the others a symbol of hope, for a better tomorrow, he'll stand guard so no one else has too, and he'll become the Vanguard of the Reaper's destruction.

I Just wanted to thank everyone who has started reading this, I will admit that I am no writer and that I am definitely not the best at this type of thing, but I hope that you all are enjoying this story so far. I have hit a slight bit of writers block, I have Chapter 3 done as well and will be posting it soon as well. Please feel free to give me any advice and or ideas.


	4. Solitude

**Chapter 3: Solitude**

The young Asari, stalks the halls of the Ark on Ilos, she checks each pods power supply and monitors the Tantalus Drive Core. Had she not taken the time to learn a bit about engineering before the others went into stasis, she would have been completely lost. She and a small team of the younger Asari volunteered for this duty, they had known it would be an important one, although one that they wouldn't need share alone as a few of the more technically inclined younger Krogan had also volunteered to remain awake over the next 400 years to safeguard and ensure the survival of the others. The Asari comes to a lone pod, separated from the others; she can't help but admire the man inside, the man who rescued her so many years ago in the Prothean ruins on Therum. She was only 106 at the time, still considered a child among most of her people, still it didn't deter her, she still managed to aid the Commander in stopping the rogue Spectre Saren and his plans to bring the Reapers out of dark space. But that, that was only a delaying action because the Reapers did come, they're the reason she was here now, trapped in an underground bunker, with 4 Krogan, and 6 other Asari, tending the rest of the stasis pods.

She sits down at her desk, and checks the power grids from her terminal before running a hand over her brow, she thinks to herself, "Why did I volunteer for the late shift again?" the shift where there is only her and 2 others. She dreaded working this shift, not because she didn't like the quietness, but because her team just constantly wanted to converse. Their lives are so boring and mundane right now, how have they managed to find something to talk about every night for the past fifty years, and then it hits Liara. "By the Goddess, it really has been fifty years since the Ark facility went active", it's kind of hard to believe now that she thinks about it. Only 350 more to go before we can start our lives over again, she looks at the time, her shift is nearly over. She anxiously awaits 0600, the time her relief arrives; she'll let the Krogan do the dirty work, or rather the paper work that she neglected to do while she was on duty. She found herself unable to tear herself away from Admiral Shepard's pod. Her friend, her Commander, and at one time her lover, although Shepard had moved on after being rebuilt by Cerberus, this saddened her but she too has since moved on, she is now at a place where she can be happy for the Admiral, and yet also sad. She knows that when he finally awakens the woman he loves will have been long dead, as much as he fought for the right to have her stay frozen until he was to be awakened, it was deemed an unnecessary risk and the request was denied. She can't deny the sadness she felt when she saw them say their final goodbyes, for one who was so afraid to love, afraid to trust, to be thrown into a situation she had no control over, only to lose the one person who didn't want to use her for his own purposes in such a way that it left everyone with a hint of sadness. Liara cried when she saw the two lovers pour their hearts and souls to one another, what made it worse was that Jack had to tell Shepard that he would be missing out on his child growing up, much to the shock of the Admiral.

Never before had she seen Shepard in such a state, never before had he displayed such emotion, as he did at that very moment when he fell to his knees, tears streaming down his cheek as he wrapped his arms around Jack's stomach, all that could be heard in between his sobs were three words over and over. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." Just thinking of that moment brought tears to Liara's eyes; she couldn't imagine the pain of knowing that you'll never meet your child but that you someday might meet your descendants 50,000 years from now. Suddenly the door behind her opens and she sees the Krogan who is to be her relief, she turns and looks at the clock on the wall and sure enough it is time for her shift to be over, she sighs and wipes the tears from her eyes then turns to the Krogan. "It has been a quiet night, although I regret to inform you that I haven't had a chance to update the logs on each of the stasis pods assigned to this section, I'm sorry." Garl the Krogan who was relieving her just shrugged, "It's alright, I'm sure I'll find the time to do that, I imagine I know the reason you didn't get it done, and I have a suggestion Liara." The Asari looks up towards the door slightly amused, they've had this conversation at least a dozen times already, even though he is probably right, Liara couldn't see giving up her role in making sure Shepard's pod stayed functioning, even though eventually she would have to. For now though, maintaining his pods functionality was her duty, a solitary one that she took extremely serious. No she wouldn't have this conversation with Garl today; she looks back to the Krogan semi blocking the door and shakes her head. "No Garl, I must continue to do this, that's my friend in that pod, and even in solitude I'll make sure that he makes it until the time he is to be awakened." Garl just nods his head and smiles, "Well Doctor T'soni I think it's time for you to get on out of here, I can handle the paperwork you just get some rest." Liara smiles at the Krogan, then quietly stands up from her seat, she slowly walks towards Garl and gently pats his shoulder as she exits the room, turning and smiling at him then she quickly heads to her quarters so she can be alone with her thoughts. Life as the Shadow Broker had been lonely but Liara had to admit that the task she was doing now, well the solitude was driving her insane. The good news however was that the Reapers were nearly finished with this cycle, which wasn't really good news to her at all but in the grand scheme of things was the goal that she and the others were working towards and thoroughly anticipating. For now though she'll enjoy the simple things, a hot shower, a cup of tea, "damn you Shepard for introducing me to this." She though as she sipped her hot Chamomile tea and curled up on her bed with a book. Only 350 years until I can see my friends again, all but one she reminded herself. She never opened her book, like many nights, she drifted off into a dreamless sleep, like normal, just as she's done for the past 50 years and as she will probably continue to do over the next 350 years.


	5. Authors Note

A small note from myself to everyone who has been reading, it seems that the formatting that I had while writing it in Microsoft Word didn't transfer over, to this site, I will see what I can do and see if I can fix the problem please bear with me while I get this sorted out. Thank you


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